Businessman, Co-founder of Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. Adolphus Busch was the second of 22 children born to Barbara (Pfeifer) and Ulrich Busch in Kastel, Mainz, Grand Duchy of Hesse (now Germany). His father was a wealthy landowner and had business interests in the lumber, winery and brewing businesses. His father's position and wealth assured that Adolphus had access to the best education. He attended the Academy of Darmstadt and the Collegiate Institute of Belgium in Brussels. After working in the lumber business for a year, he secured a position in a mercantile business in Cologne where he quickly rose to a leadership position. Adolphus, along with three of his brothers; Johann, Ulrich, Jr and Anton immigrated to the United States in 1857. He became acquainted with Eberhard Anheuser, the owner of a small brewery, and married his daughter, Lilly Eberhard Anheuser, on March 7, 1861 in St Louis, Missouri. Lilly and Adolphus had 8 children: Augusta, August Anheuser, Adolphus II, Eddie, Anna, Clara, Wilhelmina and Carl. In June 1861, Adolphus joined the Union Army and served for 14 months, eventually attaining the rank of Colonel. During his service in the Union Army, he was notified of his father's death and that he had inherited a portion of the estate. With the proceeds from the estate, he was able to establish a wholesale brewers supply business in St Louis. Four years later, he purchased an equal share of his father-in-law's Bavarian brewery, Anheuser and Company. After Eberhard Anheuser died in 1880, the business name was changed to Anheuser Busch Company. Adolphus pioneered the pasteurization of beer so that it could be kept in rail-side icehouses and shipped in refrigerated rail cars throughout the country without a loss of quality. He also pioneered bottling beer in glass bottles and founded the Busch Glass Company to assure a steady supply of bottles to his brewery business. He purchased the trademarked name "Budweiser" from Carl Conrad in 1891 for his product. The success of his brewing business allowed Adolphus and his family to contribute to many philanthropic activities. He made several contributions to Harvard University toward erection of a Germanic Museum, named Adolphus Busch Hall and assisted in the rebuilding of Kastel, Mainz, Germany from a devastating flood of the Rhine River in 1882. The family also traveled extensively and had a vacation home in Langenschwalbach, Germany (now Bad Schwalbach, Germany). While on vacation at his home in Germany, Adolphus died on Oct 10, 1913 from the effects of dropsy. The stewartship of the company he co-founded was passed to his son, August Anheuser Busch Sr. His body was shipped back to the United States in 1915 to be buried in the family mausoleum. (bio by: Vickie Clark)